One day Richard stumbled upon a leper colony. Dozens of them surrounded Richard, pressing their deformed bodies against his, and demanded charity. Their rotting flesh was oozing blood and the stench was unbearable. Richard was angry and disgusted, but simultaneously felt compassion for them, understanding that their misery justified the behavior. After twenty minutes he was spared, and then he saw an old leper woman, in whom Richard could perceive a deep longing to give motherly love. He placed his head under her palm and received her blessings. Her face lit with joy on seeing Richard and he lost all fear of contamination by seeing her affection. Richard felt the previous suffering at the hands of so many lepers was a small price to pay for this unforgettable blessing. Richard pondered that although the woman was plagued with a despicable disease, beneath the surface she was a beautiful soul who only wanted to love and be loved. Later gazing down the rushing current of Ganges, Richard reflected,

“Today the river is exposing how we have the tendency to judge others by their surface appearance, and to find only their negative qualities. But if we search beneath the surface we discover that a myriad of strains mix together to create a particular person’s nature. The faults we perceive are likely to be the effect of circumstances, the psychological response to trauma, abuse, rejection, heartbreak, insecurity, pain, confusion, or disease. I thought of the people who had nearly killed me in Istanbul, the racists that hated the Blacks during the civil rights movement, the people who had mistreated me because of my long hair, and even myself, how I had judged the generation I’d rebelled against, thinking older Americans wrong to be so concerned with money and security when, in fact, they had lived through the Great Depression, a hardship I couldn’t fathom. If we understand the underlying cause of what we think of as bad in someone, instead of being hateful, we will be compassionate. For is not every soul inherently good? A saintly person will hate the disease but love the diseased.”

To see those who are evil and externally wicked as victims of their circumstances requires spiritual vision. Richard got this realization on seeing this old woman, and he could then see even his potential killers at Istanbul as victims, rather than being inherently bad. On the contrary he now began to see them as potentially good souls, servants of God.

Radhanath Swami loves to narrate the story of Lord Nityananda, the incarnation of God who appeared five hundred years ago. He was compassion personified, and in his desire to serve and love all, he approached two of the greatest ruffians of the time, Jagai and Madhai. Both were brothers and together performed the most abominable activities; they burnt houses, indiscriminately killed men, and raped women. Everyone in the State feared these evil brothers, as they were the law unto themselves. Nityananda felt compassion, and despite the warnings of everyone, approached the brothers and pleaded with them to to give up their despicable activities and chant the Holy names of God. In their drunken condition, they attacked Nityananda, but the Lord’s persistent appeals, touched their hearts, and they reformed. They went on to become the most saintly devotees in Bengal, India, of that time.

Our daily interactions may not be with such hardened criminals; rather it could be with loving and saintly people, sincerely endeavoring in their spiritual practices. However the tendency to find faults is so deep rooted, that we often can’t appreciate those we are living with, despite them being decorated with many saintly qualities. Our narrow view of life and standards of behavior blinds us to others’ good qualities. Radhanath Swami tirelessly trains his students to see people for their primary quality-each one is a servant and lover of God. All other qualities, behavior and lack of virtues are secondary, and they shall develop over a period of time. He appeals to all to abandon seeing others from our individual frames of reference, but rather see each person as how God would see them- with love and compassion.

HDG Srila Prabhupada,Guru of HH Radhanath Swami, inspired ‘hippies’ to take to Krishna Consciousness.Any ordinary person would have only seen their faults. Prabhupada never gave up hopes and counted on Lord’s mercy. The same message is driven home by HH Radhanath Swami who shares his profoud realization from the earlier days of his spiritual life.He is a pure soul to have seen through the exteriors of people and not to judge them by externals.

The following sentence shows how deeply Radhanath Swami thinks – Richard was angry and disgusted with the lepers who pressed their ozing bodies against his demanding charity, but simultaneously felt compassion for them, understanding that their misery justified their behavior

Radhanath Maharaj gives a very deep understanding of how to be really compassionate with all people whether good or bad. The teachings make you realize that finding fault overlooking the good qualities is not a pleasing attitude to God. Thank you Maharaj.

Radhanath Swami is making so much effort to make his followers see good in others. This is a very difficult task. However because of Radhanath Swami’s personal example it is possible for so many people to work hard and become better devotes of Krishna.

Radhanath Swami is making so much effort to make his followers see good in others. This is a very difficult task. However because of Radhanath Swami’s personal example it is possible for so many people to work hard and become better devotees of Krishna.

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Buy Journey Home By Radhanath Swami

Table of Contents

I Journey to the East
II Mother India
III Himalayan Pilgrimage
IV Forest of Grace

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The Journey Home Book

‘The Journey Home - Autobiography of an American Swami’ Book is an engaging, humorous and heart-warming account of a young nineteen year old’s quest for spiritual enlightenment. The reader follows Richard Slavin (Now Radhanath Swami) from the suburbs of Chicago to the caves of Himalayas as he goes through a variety of exciting adventures; some near-death encounters and many spiritual experiences. Regular reading of this all-time classic has helped me draw spiritual lessons and seek constant inspiration in my own spiritual journey.

Founder-acharya of the International Society For Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)
Teachings of Srila Prabhupada can be found at prabhupadavani.org.

Radhanath Swami

“Go to India” a sweet but commanding voice; spoke up in the heart of young Richard (later Radhanath Swami) who was immersed in meditation, his search for meaning in life has brought him to the Isle of Crete. Today he was ordered to go to India. Born and raised in the middle class suburbs of Chicago, Radhanath swami grew up in the 1950’s and 60’s era when popular musicians protested war, prejudice and social injustice. Radhanath swami would listen to these songs again and again, but their lyrics referring to God stirred his soul. Peter, Paul and Mary- the folk trio from Greenswich village sang in their debut album
“Early in the morning, about the break of day
I ask the Lord, to help me find my way”
This simple prayer was to guide Radhanath swami in the coming years of his life........more about radhanath swamiTeachings of Radhanath Swami can be found at radhanathswami.info. Radhanath Swami travels around the world and frequently lectures throughout the United States and Europe. He is based at Radha Gopinath Temple in Mumbai, India.

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